Box Score GENEVA, N.Y.—The Hobart College basketball team picked up its 15th win of the season by holding off Liberty League foe RIT 79-70 in Bristol Gym tonight. Junior guard Stefan Thompson led four Statesmen starters in double figures with 20 points.
 
Thompson was 7-of-11 from the floor with a pair of treys and 4-of-6 from the line. Senior forward Matt Pebole added 18 points a team-high eight rebounds, and a team-high three steals. Sophomore Richie Bonney produced 14 points and seven boards and Joe Gibbons had 10 points.
 
The Tigers (6-12, 2-7) also had four starters in double digits, paced by Brendan Harder's game-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Desmond Scott, Justin Heisig, and Jameel Balenton each contributed 11 points. Heisig also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Hobart (15-3, 8-1) took a 4-0 lead on back-to-back Thompson scores and built a 23-10 lead by the time nine minutes had run off the game clock. Thompson's layup at the 4:50 mark gave the Statesmen their biggest lead of the opening stanza, 33-16. Hobart carried a 37-26 lead into halftime. The Statesmen committed just three turnovers in the first 20 minutes and held a 17-11 rebounding edge.
 
Hobart's lead reached its apex with 7:01 remaining in the contest when first-year Connor Rehbaum sank a pair of free throws for a 66-46 lead.
 
A combination of the Tigers grit and determination and the Statesmen's wandering focus late in the game allowed the visitors to claw their way back into contention. RIT rattled off a 14-2 run to shave its deficit down to single digits with just over three minutes to go. A traditional 3-point play by Harder with just under a minute remaining made it a 71-65 game. The Tigers got within six again around the 40 second mark, but each time Hobart made its free throws to protect its lead.
 
The Statesmen will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 3, when they visit St. Lawrence. RIT will play at Clarkson on the same day. Both games are scheduled to tipoff at 8 p.m.